February 6, 2023 | Town Admin TOWN OF SUTTON Pillsbury Memorial Town Hall 93 Main Street Sutton Mills, NH Sutton Mills, NH 03221 Select Board February 6, 2023 @ 5:00 p.m. Dane Headley opened the meeting at 5:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Present at the meeting were: Dane Headley, Chair; Walter Baker, Jr., Selectman; Michael McManus, Selectman; Glenn Pogust, Planning Board Chair; Peter Stanley, Planning and Zoning Administrator; Diego Solimine, Solid Waste Supervisor; Robert DeFelice, Budget Chair; and Elly Phillips, Town Administrator. The Board deferred action on a Non-public session under RSA-A:3,II(b) The hiring of any person as a public employee. At 6:15 Selectman McManus made a motion to enter into Non-public session under RSA 91-A:3,II(c) Matters which, if discussed in public, would likely affect adversely the reputation of any person, other than a member of this board, unless such person requests an open meeting. Selectman Headley seconded the motion. The Board was polled with Selectmen Headley, Baker, and McManus voting in the affirmative. Public session resumed at 6:30 p.m. Selectman Headley moved to seal the minutes as matters discussed would likely adversely affect the reputation of any person, other than a member of this board, unless such person requests an open meeting. Selectman McManus seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous affirmative vote. At 6:31 p.m. Selectman Headley made a motion to enter into Non-public session under RSA 91-A:3,II(a) The dismissal, promotion or compensation of any public employee or the disciplining of such employee or the investigation of any charges against him unless the employee affected (a) has a right to a meeting, and (2) requests that the meeting be open, in which case the request shall be granted. Selectman Baker seconded the motion. The Board was polled with Selectmen Headley, Baker and McManus voting in the affirmative. Public Session resumed at 6:40 p.m. Selectman Headley moved to seal the minutes as matters discussed related to personnel. Selectman McManus seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous affirmative vote. At 5:00 p.m., Glenn Pogust met with the Board to discuss the engineer’s recommendations regarding noticed violations, actions to cure existing violations and scope of work that can be accomplished once the violations are cured. Selectman Headley moved to adopt the engineer’s recommendations in the NOBIS Winter Work Memo for Peacock Hill dated February 3, 2023 as is and also moved that all of the recommendations made by NOBIS are deemed directives of the Select Board with respect to what is needed to cure the existing violations and regarding the scope of work that can be done in the winter season after the violations are cured. Selectman Baker seconded the motion which passed by a unanimous affirmative vote. Peter Stanley, Planning and Zoning Administrator advised that the Sutton Zoning Ordinance provision pertaining to accessory dwelling size cap at 750 sqf is not in compliance with current NH RSA’s. Therefore, the Town’s current size regulation is unenforceable. Counsel has advised that the Town should not enforce the accessary dwelling size limitation. The ordinance cannot be updated until next town meeting cycle due to the 120-day prior to annual meeting notice requirement. Selectman Headley moved to not enforce the 750 sqf accessary dwelling size restriction. Selectman Baker seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous affirmative vote. Diego Solimine met with the Board to discuss a recent complaint regarding transfer station operating hours. Selectman Headley referred to the Town’s operating plan as well as the minutes from a Select Board meeting conducted on February 22, 2021 which were pertinent to the matter. Mr. Solimine observed that things were kind of left up in the air after that meeting. Selectman Headley noted that this has been a reoccurring complaint. Selectman Headley felt that based on previous discussions and the operating plan, the facility should be kept open for those hours. Mr. Solimine was adamant that the existing schedule is working. Mr. Solimine indicated that the existing schedule was working well and that the hours were not reduced that much because staff report early and lets citizens in. Mr. Solimine said that he was aware of the complaint but felt that complaints over the last couple of years were minimal. Phillips noted that there was more than one complaint on that particular day and that there were also reports of cars turning around creating a safety hazard on Route 114. Selectman Headley observed that when you get a couple of complaints there are generally more people that are disgruntled but not filing a complaint. Mr. Solimine said that he received a great deal of positive citizen feedback. Phillips observed that the advertised hours on the website and in the annual report should be consistent with the actual operating hours. Robert DeFelice noted that time was allotted in the budget to accommodate closing activities after public hours. Mr. Solimine said that changing the hours would not be acceptable for staff members who have various obligations. Mr. Solimine said that everybody knows they need to arrive 15 minutes before closing time. Selectman McManus expressed sympathy regarding stragglers at the end of the day which adds an extra half hour to your day. Mr. Solimine said that the hard stop should be 15 minutes early. Selectman McManus said that you could prepare for closing and let the latecomers dispose of their rubbish in the construction dumpster. Selectman Baker said that citizens should be considerate of staff. Mr. Solimine discussed staffing constraints and reiterated that any hourly changes would be unacceptable to current staff members. Selectman McManus said he could see it both ways. A lengthy discussion ensued. Selectman Headley made a motion to continue with the stated hours as posted. Selectman Baker seconded the motion for the purposes of discussion. The motion failed by a vote of 2-1. Selectman McManus made a motion to continue with the current practice of closing 15 minutes early and to update the website and annual report directory accordingly. Selectman Baker seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous affirmative vote. It was noted that Mr. Solimine lets people in for the last 15 minutes anyway. Selectman Headley moved to accept the January 30, 2023, minutes as written. Selectman Baker seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous affirmative vote. CONSENT AGENDA: REVIEW OF MANIFESTS: The Board reviewed and approved the following manifests: Vendor Manifest: $66,693.99 Payroll Manifest: $14,650.33 BUILDING PERMITS: The Board reviewed and approved the following building permits: America Tower Corporation, 05-678-405A, Shadow Hill Road, for a generator subject to all state and federal environmental requirements. (Selectman Headley recused himself from action on this application). Henry & Paula Marcy, 10-082-200, Winslow Road for a ground mounted solar array. OLD BUSINESS: Selectman McManus discussed plans for the lagoons and a discussion that he had with the DES. Selectman McManus suggested that the Town close and cover the lagoons with fill. Should future remediation be necessary, it would be a matter of removing the fill. Selectman Headley requested that the matter be taken under consideration at the next regularly scheduled Select Board meeting. Selectman Headley reviewed the Select Board proposed budget by Department and Function. Budget Chair DeFelice reviewed revisions to the budget. Selectman Headley moved to recommend the Budget date 2/6/2023 for presentation at the Budget Committee Hearing on 2/9/2023. Selectman McManus seconded the motion which passed by a unanimous affirmative vote. NEW BUSINESS: The Board discussed a request from the Library Trustees for a separate joint meeting to review warrant articles. The Select Board was waiting for verification that meeting was still necessary after their scheduled meeting with the Budget Committee later that evening. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Elly Phillips Town Administrator